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Sunday, April 27, 2014

Hope in Fantasy



Author Katherine Addison (pseudonym for Sarah Monette) wrote an interesting article on the A Dribble of Ink blog about hope in fantasy. Click here to view it.

In the same context, Tor.com posted a small list of book recommendations for folks who may be looking to take a break from grimdark. Click here to view it.


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Saturday, April 26, 2014

Pick Up the Pace


Over the past year or so, I’ve really tackled some long books (some people call them door stoppers); and at the end of the day I would say that they were too long—even the ones that I’ve enjoyed. In my opinion, these types of stories get bogged down with too much world-building and/or character-building—which can be good, but they slow the story down. The problem with some of these books are that they are the first book in a series (by talented, acclaimed authors). Why are established fantasy writers wasting time building a world and characters without giving the readers a good, gripping story in the process? Is it that they think their new idea for a world and its magic system are worth hundreds of pages instead of an intriguing story?

I just finished a long book by one of these talented, acclaimed authors, and it’s like nothing really happened throughout the entire book. It seemed to be a regurgitation of the same thing over and over, which I guess was supposed to give the reader the sensation that we are really experiencing certain characters’ growth—but it did not work for me. And it seemed to just be chapter after chapter of world-building. Introductory books like this quench my desire to read on to the next big volume in the series.

I won’t name any of the books that I’ve thought lowly of, as I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion; and everyone has different tastes. Personally, my take is that an author should really work to put forth a story that lays out a pace that keeps the story moving. Of course, I’m not talking about the typical fast-paced book where the characters seem two-dimensional and the story is not worth remembering. I’m referring to books that are published to pull readers into a series of large volumes meant to be epic and engrossing, with epic world-building and strong characters. But if the characters—or what the characters are experiencing—in the story do nothing worth caring about, then it’s like watching a boat sitting in the middle of the water just going around in circles, and around in circles, and around in circles... That’s not good pacing. That’s boring. The reason that most of us read fantasy fiction is so that we can experience (through the life of the characters) a lifestyle that is more than monotonous—more extraordinary than our own.

When reading Stephen King’s It, I thought the book was too long, but I could not stop enjoying it. The characters were so interesting and their extreme experiences throughout the entire book kept you moving with the engrossing flood of happenings within the story. It was good characters with good pacing that got me through.

Though I enjoyed the first two books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, the pacing in A Storm of Swords almost made the book feel shorter than the first two, but it was actually longer. Martin picked up the pace a little more in that book, and I found myself enjoying the (dark) journey.

Apart from the long books, I found the pacing in Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass (Northern Lights), one of the best well-paced, intelligent pieces of fantasy fiction that I have ever read. However, I felt the latter books in the series lost such a pace. 

I’ve really enjoyed The Kingkiller Chronicle; however, I’m hoping author Patrick Rothfuss picks up the pace in the third and final book of the series—yet to be released.

My fear with a lot of long books is that good pacing would be lacking. It’s a lot of wasted time (for me) to invest in, if the story’s pacing is dowsed with other non-essentials. Again, I’m not expecting a Star Wars-like read, but just something that forces me to follow to the endlike E.T. picking up Reese’s Pieces along the trail to Elliot’s house (Oh, and what wonders he found in that house).    


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